With such a purpose in view no opportunity was neglected to curb
her pleasures or oppose her inclinations. He continually forced
her to leave Paris, and even when her condition required rest and
care, compelled her to accompany him on long and weary journeys,
undertaken by him in consequence of his diplomatic missions. If
she received two successive visits from one man, he was instantly
forbidden the house. If she called her carriage, the coachman
received orders not to obey. If she betrayed a preference for
one maid more than another, the favourite was instantly
dismissed, moreover, the duchess was surrounded by spies, her
movements being rigorously watched, and invariably reported. Nor
would the duke vouchsafe an explanation to his young wife
regarding the cause of this severe treatment, but continued the
even course of such conduct without intermission or abatement.
After displaying these eccentricities for some years, they
suddenly associated themselves with religion, when he became a
fanatic. Her condition was now less endurable than before; his
whims more ludicrous and exasperating. With solemnity he
declared no one could in conscience visit the theatre; that it
was a sin to play blind man's buff, and a heinous crime to retire
to bed late. And presently, his fanaticism increasing, he
prohibited the woman who nursed his infant to suckle it on
Fridays or Saturdays; that instead of imbibing milk, it might, in
its earliest life, become accustomed to fasting and mortification
of the flesh.
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